Ornamental container

ABSTRACT

A container comprising a transparent cup-shaped member forming a base and an outer upright tubular sidewall, and an inner tubular sidewall telescoped within the outer sidewall, the sidewalls being spaced apart to define an annular space for encasing a decorative fabric which forms ornamentation for the container. A split ring forms a mounting sleeve for supporting the fabric in the annular space, and a flange overlies the upper ends of the sidewalls to close the annular space. In one embodiment, the flange is secured to the inner sidewall, and in another embodiment, the flange is part of a removable cap.

United States Patent [1 1 [111 3,776,413 Myers Dec. 4, 1973 ORNAMENTALCONTAINER 1,053,681 9 1953 France 220 9 R Inventor: Jac N. y 514 henyRd, 959,341 5/1964 Great Bntam 220/9 R Beverly Hlns Cahf' PrimaryExaminerWilliam T. Dixson, Jr. [22] Filed: Feb. 14, 1972 AssistantExaminer-James R. Garrett App]. No.: 225,766

Att0rney.lohn D. Bauersfeld [57] ABSTRACT A container comprising atransparent cup-shaped member forming a base and an outer uprighttubular sidewall, and an inner tubular sidewall telescoped within theouter sidewall, the sidewalls being spaced apart to define an annularspace for encasing a decorafive fabric which forms ornamentation for thecontainer. A split ring forms a mounting sleeve for supporting thefabric in the annular space, and a flange overlies the upper ends of thesidewalls to close the annular space. In one embodiment, the flange issecured to the inner sidewall, and in another embodiment, the flange ispart of a removable cap.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing figures ORNAMENTAL CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION The invention relates to ornamental containers and hasparticular reference to a container within which is displayed adecorative fabric as ornamentation.

Decorative fabrics can provideple'asing and attractive ornamentation forcontainers if properly displayed. For example, a needlepoint design ifappropriately mounted on a container can make an ornamental containercapable of many uses, as well as serving as an attractive display forthe needlepoint design itself. The major drawback to the use ofdecorative fabrics, how ever, has been the inability to structure thecontainer in a manner so that it will receive the fabric in a simplemanner and adequately support and protect the fabric during long periodsof use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a container foruse in combination with a strip of decorative fabric which is encasedinthe container to form ornamentation therefor. By virtue of itsstructure, the container can be quickly and easily assembled with thefabric encased therein and the fabric will be fully protected fromdamage and not loose its attractiveness even after prolonged use of thecontainer.

More specifically, the container comprises inner and outer uprighttubular sidewalls. telescoped one within the other in spaced relation todefine an annular space between the sidewalls for receiving thedecorative fabric. One of the sidewalls is secured at its lower. end toa base, and a split ring having closely spaced ends is disposed in theannular space to form a mounting sleeve for supporting the fabric.

The fabric is wrapped around the ring with the ends of the fabricinserted through the ends of the split ring, and the ring and fabricthen are removably disposed in the annular space. A removable flangeprojects from theupper end of the inner sidewall over the annular spaceand upper end of the outer sidewall to close the annular space.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with thedrawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly incut-away crosssection, of a container in accordance with the inventionand having a decorative fabric encased therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in cut-away crosssection, of thedecorative fabric of FIG. 1' removed from the container and supported bya split-ring mounting sleeve;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially alongline 4--4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of an alternativeembodiment of the container of FIG. 1 and having a cap overlying andclosing the upper end of the container. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in the exemplary drawings, the presentinvention is embodied in a container for use in combination with a stripof decorative fabric 12 to be encased in the container as ornamentation.In this instance, the decorative fabric 12. is a strip of needlepointmaterial with an ornamental design formed on a portion of the strip.When the fabric 12 has been encased in the container 10, the design isdisplayed to present an attractive container which can be used as an icebucket, sewing box, planter, or the like. i

In accordance with the invention, the container 10 has an outer uprighttubular sidewall 18 composed of transparent material, an inner uprighttubular sidewall 20 telescoped within the outer sidewall in spacedrelation therewith, and a base 22 secured'to the lower end of one of thesidewalls to fonn a bottom for the container. The inner and outersidewalls 20 and 18, respectively, cooperate to define an annular space24 within which is disposed a split ring 26 forming a mounting sleevefor supporting the fabric 12 in the annular space.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 4, the outer sidewall 18 isintegrally formed with the base 22 to define a cup-shaped member withinwhich the inner sidewall 20 is telescoped. Herein, the inner and outersidewalls 20 and 18, respectively, are of equal height and have circularhorizontal cross-sections, and each is composed of a transparentplastic. The lower end of the inner sidewall 18 abuts the base 22 and issupported therebyjso that the annular space 24 has a predeterminedheight and width.

The ring 26 is composed of a resilient material, herein metal, withclosely spaced ends 28, and the fabric 12 is wrapped around the outerperiphery of the ring. Preferably, the height of the-ring 26 is slightlyless than the height of the annular space 24 and the thickness of thering 26 is sufficiently less than the width of the annular space 24 toprovide clearance in the annular space for receiving the ring togetherwith the fabric 12. The clearance should be just enough to allowinsertion of the ring 26 with the fabric 12 abutting the inner peripheryof the outer sidewall 18 and the outer periph cry of the inner sidewall20.

The fabric 12 is wrapped around the ring 26 by inserting the ends 30 ofthe fabric through the slot 32 defined by the ends of the ring 26, thisbeing done by spreading the ends of the ring slightly so that, when theends of the ring are released, the fabric will be stretchedtightlyagainst the outer periphery of the ring. The side edges 34 of the fabric12 are then folded over the upper and lower side edges 36 of the ring 26so that the design 16 is centered between the side edges of the ring.Once the fabric 12 has been wrapped around the ring 26, the ring isinserted into the annular space 24.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, an integral flange 38 projectsfrom the upper end 40 of the inner sidewall 20 over the upper end 42 ofthe outer sidewall 18 to close the annular space 24. The flange 38 has atelescoped relation with the outer sidewall 18. The ring 26, with thestrip of fabric mounted thereon, is then placed against the insidesurface of the outer sidewall 18 and the inner sidewall 20 isrepositioned with its lower end abutting the base 22 and the flange 38closing the annular space 24. In a similar manner, the ring 26 can beremoved from the annular space 24 by removing the inner sidewall 20 andthen the ring.

In an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, either or both theinner and outer sidewalls 20 and 18 can be secured to the base 22, forexample, if the container is to be used as an ice bucket, the innersidewall 20 must be secured to the base 22 to prevent water fromentering the annular space 24 and damaging the fabric 12. In such acase, the ring 26 is inserted or removed by sliding it into or out ofthe annular space 24 from the upper end of the container 10. In thisembodiment, the annular space 24 is closed by a removable cap 46 whichcloses the upper end of the container 10. The cap 46 has a downtumedperipheral portion 48 which forms a rim around the upper end portion ofthe outer sidewall 18 and holds the cap in place over the container 10.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the container 10 of theinvention provides an effective and convenient means for displaying adecorative fabric to ornament the container. By virtue of theconstruction of the container 10, the fabric 12 will not sag, bedamaged, or loose its attractiveness even after prolonged use.

While different particular forms of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will further be apparent that various modificationscan be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A container for use in combination with a strip of decorative fabricto be encased in the peripheral wall of the container as ornamentation,said container comprising:

a cup-shaped member having an outer sidewall composed of transparentmaterial and a base secured to the lower end of said outer sidewall andforming a closed bottom;

an inner upright tubular sidewall telescoped within said outer sidewallin spaced relation therewith and abutting said base, said inner sidewallcooperating with the outer sidewall to define an annular space ofpredetermined radial width and axial height;

a flange secured to the upper end of said inner sidewall and projectingover the upper end of said outer sidewall and closing the upper end ofsaid annular space, said flange having a downtumed edge defining a rimaround the upper end portion of said outer sidewall to hold said innersidewall in spaced relation with said outer sidewall;

and a substantially cylindrical split ring having closely spaced ends atthe split in said ring and disposed within said annular space andforming a mounting sleeve for supporting a strip of decorative fabric,said ring being thinner than said predetermined width to provideclearance in said annular space for receiving the ring with the strip ofdecorative fabric wrapped therearound and the ends of the strip beinginserted between the ends of said split ring.

2. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein said flange is removable bywithdrawing said inner sidewall from telescoped relation with said outersidewall thereby to open said annular space for insertion and withdrawalof said ring.

3. A container as defined in claim 2 in which said split ring isresilient to allow limited spreading of said ends for insertion of theends of the strip therebetween to both support and stretch the strip.

4. A container as defined in claim 1 in which said transparent materialis plastic and said split ring is composed of a resilient material toallow limited spreading of said ends of said ring for insertion of theends of said strip therebetween.

5. A container for use in combination with a strip of decorative fabricto be encased in the peripheral wall of the container as ornamentation,said container comprising:

an outer upright generally cylindrical tubular sidewall composed oftransparent material;

an inner upright generally cylindrical tubular sidewall telescopedwithin said outer sidewall in spaced relation therewith and cooperatingwith the outer sidewall to define an annular space of predeterminedradial width and axial height;

a base secured to the lower end of one of said sidewalls and forming aclosed bottom for said container;

and a substantially cylindrical split ring having closely spaced ends atthe split in said ring and disposed within said annular space andforming a mounting sleeve for supporting a strip of decorative fabric,said ring being thinner than said predetermined width to provideclearance in said annular space for receiving said ring with the stripof decorative fabric wrapped therearound and the ends of the strip beinginserted between the ends of said split ring.

6. A container as defined in claim 5 wherein said outer sidewall issecured to said base and said inner sidewall includes a flangeprojecting from its upper end over the upper end of said outer sidewallto close the upper end of said annular space, said flange having adowntumed edge defining a rim around the upper end portion of said outersidewall.

7. A container as defined in claim 5 including a cap overlying the upperends of said sidewalls and having a downtumed peripheral flange defininga rim around the upper end portion of said outer sidewall.

8. A container as defined in claim 5 wherein said outer sidewall iscomposed of plastic and said split ring is composed of a resilientmaterial to allow limited spreading of the ends for insertion of theends of the strip therebetween to both support and stretch the strip.

1. A container for use in combination with a strip of decorative fabricto be encased in the peripheral wall of the container as ornamentation,said container comprising: a cup-shaped member having an outer sidewallcomposed of transparent material and a base secured to the lower end ofsaid outer sidewall and forming a closed bottom; an inner uprighttubular sidewall telescoped within said outer sidewall in spacedrelation therewith and abutting said base, said inner sidewallcooperating with the outer sidewall to define an annular space ofpredetermined radial width and axial height; a flange secured to theupper end of said inner sidewall and projecting over the upper end ofsaid outer sidewall and closing the upper end of said annular space,said flange having a downturned edge defining a rim around the upper endportion of said outer sidewall to hold said inner sidewall in spacedrelation with said outer sidewall; and a substantially cylindrical splitring having closely spaced ends at the split in said ring and disposedwithin said annular space and forming a mounting sleeve for supporting astrip of decorative fabric, said ring being thinner than saidpredetermined width to provide clearance in said annular space forreceiving the ring with the strip of decorative fabric wrappedtherearound and the ends of the strip being inserted between the ends ofsaid split ring.
 2. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein saidflange is removable by withdrawing said inner sidewall from telescopedrelation with said outer sidewall thereby to open said annular space forinsertion and withdrawal of said ring.
 3. A container as defined inclaim 2 in which said split ring is resilient to allow limited spreadingof said ends for insertion of the ends of the strip therebetween to bothsupport and stretch the strip.
 4. A container as defined in claim 1 inwhich said transparent material is plastic and said split ring iscomposed of a resilient material to allow limited spreading of said endsof said ring for insertion of the ends of said strip therebetween.
 5. Acontainer for use in combination with a strip of decorative fabric to beencased in the peripheral wall of the container as ornamentation, saidcontainer comprising: an outer upright generally cylindrical tubularsidewall composed of transparent material; an inner upright generallycylindrical tubular sidewall telescoped within said outer sidewall inspaced relation therewith and cooperating with the outer sidewall todefine an annular space of predetermined radial width and axial height;a base secured to the lower end of one of said sidewalls and forming aclosed bottom for said container; and a substantially cylinDrical splitring having closely spaced ends at the split in said ring and disposedwithin said annular space and forming a mounting sleeve for supporting astrip of decorative fabric, said ring being thinner than saidpredetermined width to provide clearance in said annular space forreceiving said ring with the strip of decorative fabric wrappedtherearound and the ends of the strip being inserted between the ends ofsaid split ring.
 6. A container as defined in claim 5 wherein said outersidewall is secured to said base and said inner sidewall includes aflange projecting from its upper end over the upper end of said outersidewall to close the upper end of said annular space, said flangehaving a downturned edge defining a rim around the upper end portion ofsaid outer sidewall.
 7. A container as defined in claim 5 including acap overlying the upper ends of said sidewalls and having a downturnedperipheral flange defining a rim around the upper end portion of saidouter sidewall.
 8. A container as defined in claim 5 wherein said outersidewall is composed of plastic and said split ring is composed of aresilient material to allow limited spreading of the ends for insertionof the ends of the strip therebetween to both support and stretch thestrip.